Hydroxyapatite incorporated bacterial cellulose hydrogels as a cost-effective 3D cell culture platform

For cell and tissue physiology research, drug discovery, and growing replacement tissues for regenerative medicine, accurate and cost-efficient in vitro techniques are increasingly demanded. The conventional model for in vitro cell culture is the two-dimensional (2D) culture. Yet, cells have been found to be more native when they are grown in 3D conditions. We present here the development and evaluation of biological properties of bacterial cellulose/hydroxyapatite (BC/HA) nanocomposite hydrogel as a potential 3D cell-culture platform. The synthesized composites were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Swelling measurements and Celltiter 96® Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS) using mouse fibroblast cell line (L – 929). The arrangement of composites shown in SEM and AFM images closely resembles the native extracellular matrices (ECM) showing the potential to act as a viable substrate for cell culture. The composites exhibited high swelling ratio (5.31–5.81), indicating enhanced moisture absorption and potential for nutrient exchange. The in vitro biocompatibility results indicated significantly high percentage cell proliferation (85.20%-88.30%). These findings indicate that the BC/HA composites are potential candidates for 3D cell-culture applications.